1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to magnetic recording and more particularly to a mounting arrangement for a magnetic head which provides for vertical adjustment and azimuth alignment of the face of the transducer head.
2. Background Art
In the field of recording and in particular the field of information recording utilizing magnetic tapes, it is the conventional practice to support transducer heads utilized for recording, playback and erase in a manner so that the tape engaging faces of the respective heads are disposed in substantially parallel relation to the plane of the magnetic tape. It is highly desirable that the vertical axes of the respective heads be disposed parallel to the tape and in planes normal to the longitudinal axis of the tape, such relationship being known as the azimuth alignment of the transducer heads relative to the tape. Such head-to-tape relationship is essential to insure proper engagement between the tape and the heads and to further insure consistent positioning of the head relative to recorded tracks on the tapes.
In the past, many attempts have been made to provide mounting brackets for transducer heads used in conjunction with magnetic tapes, which allow the transducer head to be adjusted relative to the tape. Such devices, however, failed to provide suitable transducer head mounting arrangements either in that they lacked the accuracy desirable in a tape-to-transducer head relationship or required a plurality of adjustments through adjusting screws, thereby requiring a lengthy period for making the needed adjustments. For example, where three or more adjusting screws, or their equivalent, are used in the prior art devices, adjustment of any one screw produces a skewing action which requires adjustment of one or more other screws. Consequently, the prior art devices do not lend themselves to rapid, efficient assembly line techniques, thereby substantially increasing the manufacturing costs associated therewith. Head mounting techniques of this sort are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,560,569; 2,587,097; 2,678,971; 2,742,536; 2,897,288; 2,997,547; 3,137,772; 3,190,970; 3,229,044; and 3,502,820.
Another alternative to insure accurate mounting of the transducer heads is the use of precision instrumentation wherein the heads and their respective mounting units are machined to provide the proper mounting position. In the precision instrumentation technique the head is typically affixed on a precision holding fixture which positions the gaps and tracks in the proper position. The fixture and the head are then placed in a grinder or milling machine, etc., and the resulting surface is machined for proper fit to the face of the unit employing the magnetic head. Such a system obviously is very time consuming and costly to provide.